Elders of the Benedictines:
A Portrait and Interview Project
Father Clement Pangratz, O.S.B., b. 1919
Father
Clement is a member of the Benedictine community at Saint Martin's Abbey in
Lacey, Washington.
Q: What has given you the most sorrow in your life?
A: I made up my mind early that nothing was going to throw me for a loop and I've managed to stick with it. When I was twelve years old I heard the doctor tell my father in the next room that he was going to die of cancer. I knelt down and cried. It was a deep sorrow. I learned responsibility early by helping my mother survive. I earned $2.50 a week doing maintenance at a creamery beginning at 3:30 in the morning. But I was fortunate. My childhood was really great